Mokah - Southern Tier Brewing Company

Zodijackyl

Connecticut

4.9/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

22oz brown bomber poured into a snifter.

Pours black that doesn't let even a tinge of light in around the edges, fine coffee/mocha colored head (looks the same as the same series' "creme brulee stout". Aroma is various dark chocolates, medium roasted coffee beans, a variety of malts which blend quite well in their characters of barley, chocolate, caramel, and other dark malts. Chocolate and coffee are prominent, but backed up heavily by a ton of malt, with a touch of hops to balance it.

Taste begins with a strong bitter malt, dark roasted barley and other malts, plus the bitterness of coffee, with a hint of chocolate sweetness. Taste finishes with the full sweetness of all the chocolate in it, which marginally dominates the flavor. As the glass warms up, the sweetness becomes more apparent/dominant throughout the mouth.

Mouthfeel is excellent, starts out as a bitter beer, the carbonation provides a nice mouthfeel, while the chocolate provides a finish reminiscent of chocolate milk. This is an exceptionally drinkable beer due to how it changes throughout, especially a 22oz bottle over time warming up a bit.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 02:56:46 | More by Zodijackyl

Vierenner

Ohio

4.9/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Fantastic beer -- the combination of chocolate and coffee is out of this world! Has Big John and Dragon's Milk qualities ... just a tad bit sweeter. Interestingly, I think some of the bitterness comes from the coffee ... prefer that over hop bite. It is definitely a sipping beer. I consumed the bomber bottle over the course of an hour and truly enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2011 03:13:44 | More by Vierenner

Drewcifer

Pennsylvania

4.9/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Served in 10oz goblet.

Poured out black, slight tan head.

Big aroma of milk chocolate, with coffee backing and malts.

Great taste of milk chocolate with a little coffee, sweet caramels, malt, very sweet, hard to believe it's a beer.

Great mouthfeel, smooth, creamy, not too thick.

Overall, damn near perfect.

Serving type: on-tap

10-30-2011 00:25:05 | More by Drewcifer

heysuz

Indiana

4.93/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Intro: Split a 22 oz. bottle with a friend in a tulip glass.

Appearance: Thin head but large bubbles in the lacing, dark chocolate brown color with lots of carbonation on the glass. Swirls up a good head, with foam that looks like chocolate milk bubbles.

Smell: Nice chocolate smell, like a semi sweet chocolate, although the alcohol can also be discerned. No noticeable coffee tones in the aroma.

Taste: Rich and deep chocolate taste with some coffee tones at the end. Not overly sweet like Hershey, but more like a semi sweet chocolate.

Mouthfeel: It is crisp, clean and yet creamy, with a bitter sweet chocolate after taste.

Overall: It is tempting to make the taste on this beer a 5.0, but knowing I have not had that many I went with a 4.5, but will revisit this after tasting more stouts. This beer has changed my mind about stouts in general due to its rich flavor. After sampling several stouts I concluded this to be one of my favorite. Definitely a dessert beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 19:03:20 | More by heysuz

jrnold

New York

4.97/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: black with a thick tan foamy head. The head took its time dissipating but left lacing and a thin cover.
S: There is chocolate and coffee, but it is definitely the chocolate that comes through the most. The smell is amazing.
T: Again the chocolate comes in up front. A little burnt malt and coffee, and even a hint of vanilla and cream. There is some warming alcohol as would be expected from its ABV, and a dry finish.
M: Thick and creamy.
D: This is dessert reincarnated as a beer. I would drink these all day if it weren't for the ABV.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2009 02:35:57 | More by jrnold

Thickfreakness

New York

4.97/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A bottle of 2009 that's been sitting, laying in wait for such a night as this!

A- Pours like three months past it's prime motor oil! Jet black with mahogany edges! The kahki head disappears rather quickly and leaves a bit of sticky goo!

S- Sweet figs and raisins, Belgian dark chocolate... the coffee is still present, but its changed from 7-11 coffee too an exquisite, finely roasted artisinal coffee!!! Sooo much better, and less harsh coffee taste than fresh!!! The chocolate and dark fruits definatey come thru first, but the now slighty bitter coffee sneaks up on you and reminds you that it's still here!!!

T- Sweet cocoa, dried figs, roasted pecans and almonds, black coffee, and honey! The 11%abv is so well hidden! This has turned from a great Imperial Stout, into a brilliant Imperial Stout!!! The balance of sweet and bitter is amazing! Each one overtakes the other like an awesome game of pinball!!! Bing, bing... bing, bing, bing!!! Such depth of flavor!

M- Chewy, roasty, slighty sweet and perfectly bitter! Really coats the tongue and hangs in there as all ST Imperial Stouts do! The booze is still a bit present, but has mellowed nicely!

O- Can it get any better than this? Better than Jahva, better than Choklat!!! The perfect blend of each! Bitter, sweet, dark and fruity!!! Do urself a favor and age some of this... it'll be worth the wait... trust me!!!

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2011 05:41:44 | More by Thickfreakness

vfgccp

New York

4.97/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A – Black with mahogany highlights. Great dark tan head stacks high with great retention and lace.

S – Ridiculous. The aroma inundates you with solid black chocolate, malted milk balls, and fresh brewed coffee with cream.

T – The taste picks up where the nose left off. Bittersweet chocolate coast your palate as a soft espresso note rises to balance out the chocolate, cutting the sweetness with a fantastic, clean bitter roast. At 11%, alcohol laces throughout the profile, highlighting the chocolate and coffee like a spotlight.

M – Full body with an incredible aftertaste that lasts a lifetime. Minutes after each sip you can still taste the flavors ebbing through your palate.

O – A world class beer. Put an few years on this and it’ll be pure gold.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 16:50:00 | More by vfgccp

mfunk9786

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +19%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Okay, so let me go ahead and review this beer without trying to overstate how great it is. I know that in my early beer reviewing career, I've steered more toward craft brews and haven't exactly challenged my tastes with crummy beers that I'd have to really criticize too majorly, but that being said - I can't help but heap unfathomable amounts of praise on this beer. My first thought was "well, this is no Peche Mortel," but as I smelled it, drank it, experienced it - I thought "well, maybe this is the only stout I've had that's BETTER than Peche Mortel!" I've conducted an experiment to try to say negative things about a positively amazing beer. Below is my failure:

A: Dark but with a surprisingly light (eggshell off-white) head that has beautiful non-sticky (beautifully trickly) lacing. Can't find anything that isn't exceptional about the appearance of this beer.

S: Chocolate milk. And I don't mean some crummy store-bought chocolate milk, I'm talking mixed-it-yourself, after school snack chocolate milk. It's amazing how strong the smell of chocolate and lactose is, and how goddamn pleasant that smell is. How do you do it, Southern Tier?

T: Questions of whether Southern Tier isn't just adding booze to childhood favorites continue to swirl around my head. One might expect this to taste like a combination of Southern Tier's Jahva and Choklat, and you'd be right, except for the fact that you left out the lactose sweetness from their Oat, that rounds the whole beverage up and makes it unbelievably tasty. You know everything you enjoy about Dieu du Ciel's Peche Mortel? Well, this is a more drinkable version of that beer, that has more alcohol with less alcohol burn than that beer. How do they do it? I have no idea. This tastes like the best mocha iced coffee you've ever drank, and it's really a sin that this is only available as an 11% ABV beer and not something you can drink in the car on the way to work to wake you up. Wow wow wow wow wow. The first beer only available in bombers that I've considered buying a case of.

M: Creamy, with some coffee bean bitterness. Perfect. Have I mentioned that this beer is creamy? Is this even beer at this point?

D: This would be an absoultely perfect dessert in lieu of cake or ice cream. Frankly, if I could go back in time, I would have had this served at every birthday party I ever had.

The perfect dessert beer. Seek it out. Please. If Southern Tier stops making this becuase it gets overshadowed by Choklat, Jahva, and Oat; I'm coming after all of you.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2010 02:14:30 | More by mfunk9786

FARGO619

California

5/5  rDev +19%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

What a treat. Just as it sounds, and has lived it up to what I thought it would taste like. Pitch dark. Poured into a tulip glass. The aromas of chocolate danced in the glass. Swirled with a nice head that slowly disappeared. The sweetness melts in your mouth, and goes down smoothly. High ABV hidden by it's sweetness. Served at slightly cooler than room temp. Dessert beer for sure. Something to share and enjoy with a friend.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 10:05:00 | More by FARGO619

Kaiser_Biermann

5/5  rDev +19%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I love Imperial Stouts, mix that with chocolate and coffee and you have a winner.

To the untrained palate this one will be a little over the top. A conditioned craft beer drinker will enjoy this one. There are so many hidden flavor profiles in this beer.

This is now one of my favorite beers. Great job Southern Tier!

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 20:44:58 | More by Kaiser_Biermann